This invention relates in general to golf equipment and in particular to golf bags and similar golf club carriers.
Equipment for carrying golf clubs can generally be grouped into two categories. The first category includes open, wheeled carriers of a rectangular shape, often referred to as a "low-boy" carrier. The second category includes conventional golf bags. Carriers in the first category must be pulled on their wheels and cannot be carried over the shoulder of the golfer nor are they suitable for being loaded into an electric golf cart. The clubs are held in individual soft pouches which extend for only about one-third of the club length. A limited number of small storage pouches are provided as part of this carrier and a flat resting shelf is often included.
The carriers in the second category are clearly the most common, yet virtually all golf bags suffer from the same disadvantages of excessive size and weight. Further, the storage areas or pouches are poorly organized and located, especially with respect to how the bags must be positioned on golf carts. Most golfers compile a collection of tees, balls, pencils, old scorecards, gloves, insect repellant, ball markers, etc., which are randomly strewn throughout the storage pockets or pouches of the golf bag. If the storage areas are large enough (usually governed by the size of the bag), one often finds an old jacket or two, towels, and hats. The state of confusion which results should be apparent. When the golfer wishes to locate a specific item or article three or four different storage areas may need to be searched. This problem is compounded by the locations of these storage areas and their circumferential positioning around the exterior of the bag. If the bag is mounted onto a wheeled cart, certain storage areas may simply not be accessible without removal of the bag from the cart. Since the storage areas are usually soft pouches, the interior space may be compressed or contorted such that it is difficult to retrieve the contents. Another disadvantage commonly associated with conventional golf bags is that the interior space of the golf bag is excessive with respect to the space needs for the clubs which are carried therein and this represents another design inefficiency.
The first category of golf club carriers while not altogether suffering from all of the same above-identified disadvantages, are of a somewhat different style and should not be considered a golf bag in the general sense. These "low-boy" carriers do not provide any protection to the clubs from the elements, storage space is limited, durability is questionable, and transporting is awkward. These types of shortcomings have been recognized generally by golfers thereby accounting for the limited popularity of this first category type of carrier. Further, there is no attempt with carriers of either category to arrange the storage areas in a particular manner nor to reduce size and weight while retaining the desirable features of conventional golf bags.
The following listed patent references disclose golf bag concepts and golf equipment storage concepts, but none are anticipatory of the present invention:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 3,172,681 Moses 3/09/65 3,373,911 Kebelbeck 3/19/68 3,674,072 Shuto 7/04/72 3,729,036 McFadden 4/24/73 3,941,398 Nelson 3/02/76 4,136,724 Leitzel 1/30/79 4,142,563 Ackerfeldt et al. 3/06/79 ______________________________________
Moses discloses a golf club carrier in combination with a wheeled golf cart which includes a plurality of club-receiving tubes extending between a top plate and a bottom plate. The top plate is further configured with areas for storage of golf balls, tees, and scorecards and interior to the plurality of tubes is an accessory bag. Although this construction eliminates some of the excessive weight and size associated with conventional golf bags, nothing is done to simplify and make more efficient the storage of accessory golf items. Furthermore, this particular construction coincides more closely with the first category of carriers than the second category in that this construction should not be considered a golf bag which is of the type of construction to which the present invention pertains.
Kebelbeck discloses a receptacle which is adapted for attachment to a golf bag cart for the storage therein of street shoes or golf shoes as well as a removable waterproof cover for the golf bag itself. Although this particular disclosure pertains to a storage compartment for golf equipment, it does not represent a modification or change in design of golf club carriers and is believed to be of only limited applicability to the present invention.
Shuto discloses a sectional golf bag which can be manually assembled without sewing machines and related equipment. The construction concept involves force-fitting of certain component parts into the final configuration as well as the use of certain fastener elements to assist in the construction and assembly. Although the concepts represented by this reference may be novel, the end product is still a conventional golf bag in outward appearance and suffers from the same disadvantages previously discussed.
McFadden discloses an insertable liner for golf bags which consists of a rectangular sheet of material which is flexible but self-supporting and which is rolled to form a tube of a predetermined diameter. This liner is adjustable in size to as to permit a selected annular space within the golf bag into which golf clubs can be placed. Although this construction improves the utilization of the interior space of a conventional golf bag, nothing has been done to improve the storage facilities for accessories and related golf equipment.
Nelson discloses a golf club holder which includes a plurality of elongate bores for receiving the shafts of golf clubs and although further novel features are discussed, there is no mention of improving on the present disadvantages of conventional golf bag storage pockets and pouches.
Leitzel discloses a golf club carrier similar in many respects to Nelson in that means are provided for keeping the clubheads separated from each other. Once again, however, no improvements have been made or suggested as to the storage compartments for equipment and golf accessory items.
Ackerfeldt et al. discloses a golf bag for storage and transport of golf clubs and includes a relatively long and narrow container preferably of a plastic material for receipt of the golf clubs such that with the shafts inserted, only the heads of the clubs protrude from the container at its upper open end. Separate storage bags are provided and are detachably mounted to the exterior surface of the container by means of two, parallel, external key grooves in the peripheral wall of the container.
It is to be pointed out that while each of the above patent references relate generally to conventional golf bags and modifications thereof, none of the disclosures anticipate the invention described herein.